Space Lords Centaurus
Alternative title: Space Lords - Andromeda II
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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About 'Centaurus' version:

It's taken almost a whole year since their first appearance, but the Space Lords have finally returned in this exclusive C64 remix of the classic Warlords game! Initially released as one of the higher scoring entries in 2011's C64 16KB Cartridge Competition, ALeX, Retrofan and Taxim from P1X3L.net are proud to present the 'Centaurus' version of the game on a 16KB cartridge courtesy of RGCD. 

Complete with a space-freighter load of aesthetic and gameplay improvements since the release of the free Andromeda and Andromeda II builds, Space Lords is a single-to-four-player space-station smashing battle-game that supports a huge variety of controllers (joysticks, mice, paddles, keyboard and the Protovision 4-Player adapter) and includes several game modes for either tournaments or single play sessions.

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Space Lords is a game for four players, yes, four. It takes advantage of the Protovision four player adapter to allow up to four players to take battle in a game that is essentially Pong with some Arkanoid features thrown in.

It plays with four players regardless of the number of actual people playing, with however many remaining paddles controlled by the CPU if there aren’t enough real people to play with.

You play as a Space Lord, sat in the corner of the screen surrounded by a thick wall which sits behind a paddle, which you must use both to defend your base from the bouncing ball and to reflect the ball back to attack the base of the other players’.

As with a lot of games designed with multiplayer in mind the game doesn’t really take off unless there are a number of real players with you. This is nothing to do with how the game really plays (though if you die early and have to sit waiting for the computer to finish killing itself it can be boring) and more to do with the social nature of four player games. Think of how Gauntlet is much more fun to play with three friends than it is on your own (An experience I know only too well *sob*).

The game starts slowly, as a single, slow ball is batted between the players but it soon picks up as the speed of the ball increases along with the number of balls in play. If a ball finds it’s way through your wall and hits you then you’re out for that round and play continues until there is one man, or alien rather, left standing.

Being such a simple and obvious concept it’s easy to pick up and play, with bright, colourful graphics and enjoyable sound and music. It’s a great example of how a few tweaks to an established genre can breath new life into it.

As a debut effort, which Space Lords is, it’s a fantastic achievement and a worthy addition to the steadily growing number of four player games available on the C64 now the four player adapter has been released.


http://zombiesatemyxbox.com/2011/12/16/the-homebrew-review-retrogamercd-commodore-64-16k-cart-2011-comp-part-two/
